Ancient Dragon in Arknights

Thump thump thump—fists pounded against the shield, Nesario took a step to change direction, occasionally inserting elbow strikes, kicks and other moves.

He was no longer a bloodthirsty beast, but a skilled soldier—Nesario was proficient in many martial arts, including human hunter tactics against large monsters, the ambush tactics given by the Odogaron, the Blade Spinning technique given by the Dragon Slayer, and the close combat skills he had learned and mastered from the Royal Guard Academy.

Nesario seized the opportunity and, in a moment when Azure Star was unaware, used his tail to sweep his leg—the previously immovable defensive stance was instantly disrupted, and the opportunity had arrived!

Nesario disregarded the difference between men and women, and he lowered his body, attempting to grab Azure Star around the waist and throw him to the ground.

But the Azure Star, who had lost her balance, did not reveal any opening as Nesario had predicted. Her body suddenly flashed—by the time Nesario reacted, she had actually used a backward step.

"Varied--"

With Nesario wide open, Azure Star naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. She pushed off with her feet and swung her knife with her left hand—a deadly surprise attack.

The reversed blade struck Nesario hard, and he lost.

"What was that just now?"

Nesario, lying on the ground resting, was unwilling to give up. He had just seized the opportunity, but the Azure Star, which had lost its balance, instantly recovered in that instant. What kind of power was this?

Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Investigation Team's Meals

"This is the power of the precious pearl."

Azure Star walked up to Nesario and handed him the one-handed sword to examine—there was a small hole in the hilt with a blue jewel embedded in it.

"..."

Nesario glanced around the crowd, but after searching, he couldn't find the familiar, mischievous, wiggling eel. He had intended to sue his follower cat for insufficient information—why hadn't it been mentioned sooner that it possessed such magical powers?

It seems I'm still far from good enough, Nesario knew that Azure Star wasn't really serious at all.

"Your Palico seems to have gone up there alone. By the way, this is my Palico follower."

Seeing Nesario looking around, Azure Star guessed that his intention was definitely to find his Palico.

As Azure Star waved, a white Palico dressed in clothes made of monster materials ran out from the crowd. It interacted affectionately with Azure Star, purring sweetly.

Nesario thought to himself that this Palico must be a female cat, otherwise it wouldn't be so cute—look at his three cats, especially his Palico, whose headgear was just too abstract.

'Oh, right! The elementary school students and young craftsmen are still at the camp!'

"Um, Commander-in-Chief! I have a request!"

"Ok?"

The commander-in-chief, who was watching from the sidelines, nodded, signaling Nesario to continue.

"Besides my Palico, two other Palicoes came with me. They were settled in a camp, and I forgot about them."

Nesario finally remembered that he was a man with three cats. The day's experience was so wonderful that he had forgotten about the other two kittens.

"Don't worry, my cat told me about this before. Hunters have already gone to find them, so you can relax."

Commander-in-Chief! You are such a reassuring person!

Nesario hopes that if he ever works in the future, he will definitely work for the research team. With a boss like that, he shouldn't have a bad life.

"Don't do that again next time. Your companions are the most important thing on an adventure."

The receptionist gave Nesario this advice, and Azure Star smiled slightly in response.

"I've remembered this, and it won't happen again."

Neltharion nodded earnestly in agreement. Seeing his reaction, the Commander-in-Chief was once again certain that Neltharion was suitable to be a hunter.

Azure Star pointed upwards, his gaze following the towering wooden ladder as it ascended. The investigation team was stationed near a waterfall and a cliff, with what appeared to be a furnace burning at the top of the cliff.

"That's the dining area; all the hunters eat there. Would you like to come along?"

"Give me a hand."

Eating is Nesario's favorite thing, and the key point is—as his follower had said before, the expedition's meals are delicious.

The sparring session ended, and the crowd, having enjoyed the spectacle, finally dispersed. However, Nesario received numerous invitations: scholars requesting research and observation, and hunters inviting him to hunt...

In short, Nesario has successfully integrated into the investigation team.

Following Azure Star and the receptionist, Nesario traversed the distribution area, where there were large cauldrons for alchemy, mountains of supplies piled high, and a massive plant research institute...

"Are we going to have to climb the stairs later?"

Nesario looked at the winding, undulating ladder, eager to see what the view was like from above.

“No, hunters have a much faster way of moving.”

"Chong-"

The receptionist enthusiastically showed Nesario the expedition's "elevator"—a waterfall cascading down from a great height impacting a huge waterwheel, and the immense force generated by the waterwheel's rotation pulling pulleys in various parts of the expedition's structure, including the iron chains used for movement.

Several iron cables, pulled by a waterwheel, slowly ascend from the bottom up. Every so often, there is a footboard on the iron cables. By stepping on the footboard and grabbing the iron cable, passengers can reach the upper area.

"Is it that exciting?"

"Seize the opportunity, or it will be dangerous if you get caught in the iron chains."

Nesario really wanted to know who the designer of the survey team's base was, and who the safety officers and inspectors were. "How dare they build such a structure—it's really cool!"

"I'm on it!"

As the new tripod arrived, Nesario took the lead, stepped on it, and held on firmly before being pulled upwards by the iron chains.

The receptionist, Azure Star, and her cat followed closely behind. Upon arriving at the third floor, which was the dining area, Nesario found it to be indeed bustling with activity.

Scholars, staff, hunters, craftsmen—the entire investigation team was eating around the table.

"Azure Star! How did today's mission go?!"

"I heard you went to investigate the strange occurrences in the forest alone!?"

"Oh! Isn't that the dragon guy over there?"

"That sparring match was really exciting!"

"..."

"Head Chef! What's today's recommended set menu?"

Azure Star and Nesario were dealing with the enthusiastic crowd, while the receptionist headed to the kitchen counter.

Unexpectedly, the chefs in charge of cooking were not human, but a group of Palicoes; even the huge oven behind them was shaped like a cat, with huge chunks of meat stuffed into the oven or suspended by ropes, some of which were even larger than a person.

The Palicoes, dressed in aprons and chef's hats, were skilled at grilling, pan-frying, stir-frying, and making soup. The enticing aromas had already entered Nesario's nostrils, tantalizing his senses.

"Nesario meow! We're here!"

Hearing someone call his name, Nesario turned around to see a little craftsman, a little scholar, and a swaying eel headgear.

"It's good that you guys are all safe and sound."

"Nesario Meow, try this, it's delicious!"

The craftsman cat handed a skewer of roasted meat to Nesario, who looked at the fist-sized piece of meat and his mouth watered.

With one bite, the meat was cooked to perfection, not too firm, and the bone was removed easily, making it easy to tear off the bamboo skewer. Chewing the roasted meat in my mouth, the rich aroma and juices filled my entire mouth. Nesario had thought that such a large piece of meat would not be flavorful or have enough gaminess, but the chef's skill was superb, making the roasted meat perfect!

"How about it?"

"Absolutely delicious!"

"Today's recommended set meal is a meat dish!"

The receptionist and Azure Star sat down one after the other, and they greeted the three Palicoes—whose reactions were quite interesting.

The Craftsman Cat was outgoing and energetic, responding enthusiastically; the Scholar Cat, on the other hand, was a little embarrassed because of its slight arrogance; as for the Follower Cat... Nesario would only consider it polite if this guy took off the wagging eel.

"I have long admired your name, the most outstanding hunter—'The Azure Star That Guides the Way'."

"Hello."

"Hey! Sister, are you from Azure Star!?"

"Please sign my autograph, thank you!"

Scholar Meow pulled out her notebook hanging from her waist, hoping that Azure Star would sign her name on the first page.

"No problem at all."

"..."

Nesario looked at the three kittens suspiciously... and then recalled the scene of his battle with Azure Star. Could it be that he did something incredible?

"The food is here!"

As several chef cats brought over the dishes, Nesario finally saw the portion size of the meal.

A large piece of roasted meat with roasted potatoes and fruit, four different skewers on freshly cut pineapple, a bowl of rich creamy vegetable soup, a large bowl of seafood fried rice, and cheese and fruit wine as dessert and drinks.

Nesario felt that his earlier decision to use Berserk was the right one.

"Today, though I die, I will still laugh."

Nesario: I'm going to eat, eat, eat!

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Cat Food, My Cat Food

"Ugh..."

Nesario slowly woke up from his sleep. After looking around, he noticed that the room had many modern design elements, unlike the wood and steel masterpieces found in the Hunter world.

This is Terra, this is the dormitory of the Royal Guard Academy of Victoria. The living conditions here surpass those of 90% of the world's population, but Nesario sincerely wishes he hadn't woken up here.

"I remember I was drinking..."

The last fragment of memory from the banquet was when he and Azure Star and the others raised their glasses in celebration. It seemed that he was completely exhausted at that time, and Nesario also woke up from his sleep.

This dream journey only resulted in defeating a stag-headed demon, but clearly—that thing didn't belong to the Hall of Dragons, and Neltharion didn't receive its inheritance at all.

"Fine, I've taken that thing. Who knows what kind of monster I'll turn into later."

Nesario felt that he should continue down the path of dragonification and never turn back, after all, dragons were all very cool, especially the ancient dragons that his follower cat had described to him—terrifying beings that could change the weather and ecology, and even completely destroy a continent.

"I need to get up quickly, I need to eat breakfast!"